Freely lay it down

See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! (Isaiah 12:2-4 NLT)

When a person gives their lives to the Lord, asking him for the forgiveness of their sins, there is something that begins within them - sanctification. That is just a big word that means your life is about to change for the better. The things that gave you so much worry and angst will not immediately be gone in a magical poof of smoke, but your perspective will change until one day you gradually see those things no longer as threats to your peace or security.

The Lord's strength becomes our strength - an exchange that is definitely no equal in any measure! The things we used to attempt to do on our own are no longer ours to 'muscle through' under our own power or strength. We have a renewed energy, but we also have a strength that is supernatural (not like some superhero but unlike anything humanly created). As a result, our lives begin to change - the 'orientation' of our focus moves away from what we can do toward what he has done and continues to do within us.

With joy we will drink deeply from this fountain. Salvation is not like anything else a human can experience in this world. It begins a work within us that washes over us and refreshes us unlike anything we have ever experienced. That 'refreshing' and 'cleansing' work of salvation doesn't just stop the moment we say yes to Jesus, though. It is a continual thing - sanctification is the 'working out' of our new life. It 'works out' the old way of seeing and responding to life events and 'works in' a new way of seeing and responding.

We might not 'feel' brand new, but the old is gone. We might need to remind ourselves of that from time to time, though. Why? Our old behavior has a memory! We need Jesus to begin to change how we respond to things - especially those things that take us down a road toward improper or bad behavior. The very thing we need in order to change our response to those urges to do what we should not do is right there within us now. We don't have to respond out of 'old memory' any longer. We are given a 'new heart' and that means we have a new way of thinking!

His mighty work within us isn't finished, so don't despair when you fall back a bit into an old way of thinking or acting. He will help you change your response - day after day, until one day you no longer are pulled into that way of thinking or acting any longer. The more we lay those things at his feet, trusting him to repair what sin has damaged within us, the more he will freely work out his salvation within us. Just sayin!